Broadcast/multicast service method based on user location information

ABSTRACT

A method and device for providing a broadcast/multicast service are discussed. According to an embodiment, the invention provides a method comprising: receiving, by a client module, a service guide including contents information with respect to one or more contents from a broadcast/multicast server; transmitting, by the client module, a broadcast/multicast request message with respect to contents selected by a user of a specific terminal among the contents information included in the received service guide to the broadcast/multicast server; transmitting, by the client module, a location tracking request message with respect to the specific terminal to a network entity; receiving a response message with respect to the location tracking request message, the response message including a location tracking result from the network entity; transmitting, by the client module, location information of the specific terminal to the broadcast/multicast server.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(a), §119(e) or §120, this application is aContinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/155,531 filed Jun.16, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,672,280 which claims the benefit ofearlier filing date and right of priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/579,669 filed on Jun. 16, 2004, Korean ApplicationNo. 10-2004-70512, filed on Sep. 3, 2004, and Korean Application No.10-2004-90064, filed on Nov. 5, 2004. The contents of each of theseapplications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a broadcast/multicast service and, moreparticularly, to a broadcast/multicast service based on user locationinformation.

2. Description of the Related Art

A broadcast/multicast service, which provides sky wave broadcast orvarious supplementary information to mobile terminals, is a new type ofservice including both a broadcast service that usable information isprovided by a service provider to all the clients who have subscribedfor its service and a multicast service that information is providedonly to a certain group of clients who have previously subscribed for aspecific subject or contents.

Since the broadcast/multicast service can simultaneously provide thesame information to multiple clients, network resources can beeffectively managed, and in line with this, symbols for providing a highbandwidth application through the effective management of the networkresources is increasing. In addition, clients' demands for a high levelof services can be satisfied by providing diverse high speed services.

Clients can select only a favored service among various offeredinformation to receive it, and in this respect, a method for selectivelyreceiving information based on location information of a client has notbeen defined.

In addition, a related art broadcast/multicast service does not define amethod for allowing a server to classify multimedia type information orvarious contents based on a location service of a user and provide it.

Namely, the related art broadcast/multicast service has a problem thatthe same information is simultaneously provided to multiple clients andthe clients are to receive the information unconditionally regardless oftheir location.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, one object of the present invention is to provide abroadcast/multicast service method based on user location information,by which, in providing a service to a user who has subscribed for theservice, a server can selectively provide user's favored broadcast orcontents based on location information of a user.

Another object of the present invention is to provide abroadcast/multicast service method based on user location information,by which a user can selectively receive contents or informationaccording to a current location.

To achieve at least the above objects in whole or in parts, there isprovided a broadcast/multicast service method based on user locationinformation in a broadcast/multicast service system, including: settingcontents desired to be received in a particular area by a terminal; andtransmitting the corresponding contents to the terminal by abroadcast/multicast server when the terminal is located in a pre-setarea.

To achieve at least these advantages in whole or in parts, there isfurther provided a broadcast/multicast service method based on userlocation information including: transmitting, by a broadcast/multicastserver which has received certain contents from a contents provider, acontents list including service-available area information to one ormore terminals; receiving a broadcast/multicast request message withrespect to one or more contents selected by a user of a specificterminal among the contents list; checking, by the broadcast/multicastserver, location information of the specific terminal through a locationserver; and transmitting contents corresponding to a current location ofthe specific terminal to the specific terminal.

To achieve at least these advantages in whole or in parts, there isfurther provided a broadcast/multicast service method based on userlocation information including: transmitting, by a broadcast/multicastserver which has received certain contents from a contents provider, acontents list including service-available area information to one ormore terminals; receiving a broadcast/multicast request message withrespect to one or more contents selected by a user of a specificterminal from the contents list; receiving current location informationof the specific terminal from the specific terminal; and transmittingcontents corresponding to a current location of the specific terminal tothe specific terminal.

To achieve at least these advantages in whole or in parts, there isfurther provided a method for providing a broadcast/multicast servicebased on user location information in which a broadcast/multicastservice is provided to at least one or more terminals each having aclient performing transmission/reception through the same network,including: transmitting, by a broadcast/multicast server which hasreceived one or more contents, the contents information to the client;receiving a broadcast/multicast request message with respect to contentsselected by a user of a specific terminal among the contents informationfrom the client; transmitting by the broadcast/multicast server alocation tracking request message with respect to the specific terminalto a location server; receiving a response message with respect to thelocation tracking request from the location server; and transmittingcontents corresponding to the location information to the specificterminal.

To achieve at least these advantages in whole or in parts, there isfurther provided a method for providing a broadcast/multicast servicebased on user location information in which a broadcast/multicastservice is provided to at least one or more terminals each having aclient performing transmission/reception through the same network,including: receiving, by the client, contents information with respectto one or more contents from a broadcast/multicast server; transmittinga broadcast/multicast request message with respect to contents selectedby a user of a specific terminal among the contents information to thebroadcast/multicast server; transmitting by the client a locationtracking request message with respect to the specific terminal to alocation server; receiving a response message with respect to thelocation tracking request including a location tracking result from thelocation server; transmitting, by the client, location information ofthe specific terminal to the broadcast/multicast server; and receivingcontents corresponding to a current location of the specific terminal,among the selected contents, from the broadcast/multicast server.

To achieve at least these advantages in whole or in parts, there isfurther provided a method for providing a broadcast/multicast servicebased on user location information in which a broadcast/multicastservice is provided to at least one or more terminals each having firstand second clients each being connected to a different network,including: transmitting, by a broadcast/multicast server which hasreceived one or more contents, the contents information to the firstclient; receiving a broadcast/multicast request message with respect tocontents selected by a user of a specific terminal among the contentsinformation from the second client; transmitting, by thebroadcast/multicast server, a location tracking request message withrespect to the specific terminal to a location server; receiving aresponse message with respect to the location tracking request from thelocation server; and transmitting contents corresponding to the locationinformation among the contents, which have been selected by the user, tothe first client.

To achieve at least these advantages in whole or in parts, there isfurther provided a method for providing a broadcast/multicast servicebased on user location information in which a broadcast/multicastservice is provided to at least one or more terminals each having firstand second clients each being connected to a different network,comprising: receiving, by the first client, contents information withrespect to one or more contents from a broadcast/multicast server;transmitting, by the second client, a broadcast/multicast requestmessage with respect to contents selected by a user of a specificterminal among the contents information to the broadcast/multicastserver; transmitting, by the second client, a location tracking requestmessage with respect to the specific terminal to a location server;receiving, by the second client, a response message with respect to thelocation tracking request including a location tracking result;transmitting, by the second client, location information of the specificterminal to the broadcast/multicast server; and receiving, by the firstclient, contents from the broadcast/multicast server.

Accordingly an embodiment, the invention provides a broadcast/multicastservice method based on user location information, the methodcomprising: transmitting, by a broadcast/multicast server which hasreceived certain contents from a contents provider, a service guideincluding service-available area information to one or more terminals;receiving, by the broadcast/multicast server, a broadcast/multicastrequest message with respect to one or more contents selected by a userof a specific terminal from the service guide; receiving currentlocation information of the specific terminal from the specificterminal, the current location information of the specific terminalindicating an exact current location of the specific terminal; andtransmitting, to the specific terminal, contents corresponding to theexact current location of the specific terminal among the contentsselected by the user according to location based filtering by thebroadcast/multicast server.

According to an embodiment, the invention provides a method forproviding a broadcast/multicast service based on user locationinformation in which a broadcast/multicast service is provided to atleast one or more terminals, each terminal having a client module forperforming transmission/reception through a network, the methodcomprising: receiving, by the client module, a service guide includingcontents information with respect to one or more contents from abroadcast/multicast server; transmitting, by the client module, abroadcast/multicast request message with respect to contents selected bya user of a specific terminal among the contents information included inthe received service guide to the broadcast/multicast server;transmitting, by the client module, a location tracking request messagewith respect to the specific terminal to a network entity; receiving aresponse message with respect to the location tracking request message,the response message including a location tracking result from thenetwork entity; transmitting, by the client module, location informationof the specific terminal to the broadcast/multicast server, the locationinformation of the specific terminal indicating an exact currentlocation of the specific terminal; and receiving contents correspondingto the exact current location of the specific terminal, among thecontents selected by the user, from the broadcast/multicast server.

According to an embodiment, the present invention provides a mobileterminal for providing a broadcast/multicast service based on userlocation information, the mobile terminal comprising: a transceiverconfigured to receive and transmit signals through a network; and aclient module configured to cooperate with the transceiver and to:receive a service guide including contents information with respect toone or more contents from a broadcast/multicast server; transmit abroadcast/multicast request message with respect to contents selected bya user among the contents information include in the received serviceguide, to the broadcast/multicast server; transmit a location trackingrequest message with respect to the mobile terminal to a network entity;receive a response message with respect to the location tracking requestmessage, the response message including a location tracking result fromthe network entity; transmit location information of the mobile terminalto the broadcast/multicast server, the location information of themobile terminal indicating an exact current location of the mobileterminal; and receive contents corresponding to the exact currentlocation of the mobile terminal, among the contents selected by theuser, from the broadcast/multicast server.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will beset forth in part in the description which follows and in part willbecome apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art uponexamination of the following or may be learned from practice of theinvention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realizedand attained as particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in detail with reference to thefollowing drawings in which like reference numerals refer to likeelements wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the construction of abroadcast/multicast system in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a signal flow chart of a broadcast/multicast service method inaccordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a signal flow chart of a broadcast/multicast service method inaccordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates examples of items included in a service guide entryin accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 5A to 5C and 6A to 6G illustrate examples of a location trackingrequest message and a corresponding response message expressed in an XML(extensible Markup Language);

FIG. 7 shows an example of a search table of a database of a broadcastserver;

FIG. 8 is a signal flow chart of a broadcast/multicast service method inaccordance with a third embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a signal flow chart of a broadcast/multicast service method inaccordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A broadcast/multicast service method based on user location informationin accordance with the present invention will now be described withreference to the accompanying drawings.

The present invention proposes interface and operation between aterminal providing user's favored contents or information and one ormore servers based on user location information. In particular, thepresent invention proposes a broadcast/multicast service by which aserver filters various contents or information based on user locationinformation and provides it to users in a pertinent service area. Inthis case, the server can provide the service to every user in thepertinent area, provide the corresponding service to a terminal whichrequests the service in the corresponding area, or provide thecorresponding service to an area requested by the user.

In the present invention, when a user requests a broadcast/multicastservice provided in a particular area, a broadcast/multicast serverchecks location information of the user and provides contents orinformation of the pertinent area. In this case, the broadcast/multicastserver checks the user location information through a location server orchecks user location information transmitted from the terminal.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the construction of abroadcast/multicast system in accordance with the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the broadcast/multicast system includes a contentsprovider 10, a broadcast/multicast server 30 which checks areainformation from contents and information received from the contentsprovider 10 and provides the contents and information to a correspondingarea through a broadcast/multicast service, a terminal 50 which receivesthe contents and information from the broadcast/multicast server 30 andtransmits information inputted by a user, and a location server 20 whichchecks location information of the terminal 50. In this case, thecontents provider 10 can simultaneously provide one or more contents toone or more terminals by using the broadcast/multicast service.

The terminal 50 includes a broadcast/multicast client receiving orrequesting the broadcast/multicast service, and a location clientreceiving or requesting location information of a correspondingterminal. In this case, the broadcast/multicast client and the locationclient are sort of modules installed in the terminal.

A network for actually transmitting the contents and information betweenthe terminal and the broadcast/multicast server includes an MBMS(Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service) of a 3GPP, a BCMCS (BroadcastMulticast Service) of a 3GPP2, or a DVB (Digital Video Broadcast). Thenetwork is comprehensively called BDS (Broadcast Distribution System).

The MBMS and BCMCS have both uplink channel and downlink channel, sointerfacing between the broadcast/multicast server and the terminal inthe same network can be possible. However, in case of the DVB, it hasonly the downlink channel, so if the terminal wants to performcommunication with the broadcast/multicast server, it must be connectedwith a mobile communication network such as an EV-DO (Evolution DataOnly) or a GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) in order to usethe uplink channel.

The system constructed as described above operates as follows.

The broadcast/multicast server receives contents from the contentsprovider and stores it. When the broadcast/multicast server receivescurrent location information of a terminal from the location server orfrom a terminal which requests corresponding contents, it transmitscontents to be provided to the pertinent area, among the storedcontents, to the terminal of a user.

The broadcast/multicast server receives certain contents from thecontents provider, classifies and stores it in a corresponding servicearea, receives current location information of a terminal from thelocation server or from the terminal requesting corresponding contents,and transmits contents provided in the corresponding area to theterminal of the user.

Although the broadcast/multicast server does not receive a servicerequest from the terminal, it can provide contents and informationcorresponding to a current location of the terminal, and can transmitcontents provided to a specific area requested by the user to thecorresponding terminal regardless of the current location information ofthe service-requested terminal.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are signal flow charts showing a broadcast/multicastservice method based on user location information, in which thebroadcast/multicast service can be implemented through a terminal ofwhich a broadcast/multicast client and a location client can beconnected to the same network. In this case, the network is the MBMS ofthe 3GPP or the BCMCS of the 3GPP2.

FIG. 2 is a signal flow chart of a broadcast/multicast service method inaccordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, in whichthe broadcast/multicast server, which intends to transmit contents orinformation related to location information, directly receives locationinformation of a corresponding terminal from the location server.

As shown in FIG. 2, the broadcast/multicast service system includes acontents provider 10, a location server 20, a broadcast/multicast server20, a terminal 50 and an end user 60 that checks contents andinformation outputted to the terminal 50 and inputs certain information.The contents and information are transferred to the terminal 50 througha BDS 40. The terminal 50 includes a BDS receiver 51, abroadcast/multicast and location client 53. In this case, because thebroadcast/multicast client and the location client of the terminal 50are connected to the same network, the two clients are assumed as oneentity, namely, the broadcast/location client 53.

The broadcast/multicast server 30 receives one or more contents from thecontents provider 10 (step S11). The contents include information onarea to which corresponding contents are scheduled to be transmitted,namely, information on an area to which the corresponding contents canbe provided.

Upon receiving the contents, the broadcast/multicast server 30 generatesa service guide by using a service time, place (location) and a relatedschedule of each contents, and transmits each service guide to terminals50 of an every area where the broadcast/multicast service is provided.In this case, the broadcast/multicast server 30 can store the contentsreceived from the contents provider in two ways. The first one isreceiving and storing the contents, and the second one is checking areainformation included in the contents and storing the correspondingcontents according to each service area as classified. The service guideincludes an entire contents list which can be provided by thebroadcast/multicast server or a contents list that a user has previouslyrequested or discriminately selected based on preference informationregistered when the user subscribes for the service.

In the case that each program or contents of the service guide includesarea information, condition information with respect to a factor fordiscriminating a specific area, contents based on location, and servicefeatures providing each contents must be included in a correspondingservice guide entry.

For example, the factor for discriminating a specific area includes aname of an area, a detailed address, a postal code number, accuratelocation coordinates, or the like, the contents include classificationinformation as to whether corresponding contents are an advertisement orweather information or the like, the service features includeinformation whether corresponding contents are used for only one time orperiodically used or whether it is provided when a terminal enters ormoves out of a specific area. Information included in the service guideentry is to be described in detail.

When the terminal 50 receives the service guide through the BDS receiver51, it displays the service guide through the broadcast/location client53 so that the user 60 can check the service guide (step S13).

The user 60 checks several programs and contents from the displayedservice guide and selects a service guide entry corresponding tocontents desired to be received at a specific position or at itslocation among the contents (step S14). Then, a broadcast/multicastrequest message is transmitted to the broadcast/multicast server 30through the broadcast/location client 53. In this case, thebroadcast/multicast request message includes information of contentsselected by the user and service features as to whether the contents isused for one time or periodically provided, or information whether thecontents are provided when a terminal enters or moves out of a specificarea, and an ID of the terminal. The contents information can includeinformation on an area where the corresponding contents are provided.

When the broadcast/multicast server 30 receives the broadcast/multicastrequest message from the broadcast/location client 53, it transmits alocation tracking request message to the location server 20 (step S16).

Upon receiving the location tracking request message, the locationserver 20 checks whether the location information of the correspondingterminal can be disclosed (which, for example, means that a specificterminal is set whether to allow for a third party to perform locationtracking on the specific terminal itself, which is also called a‘privacy check’) (step S17), and if user's permission is required forthe location tracking, the location server 20 transmits a notificationmessage with respect to permission of location tracking to the user 60,and the user transmits a response message to the notification message(step S18).

Location tracking of the terminal is performed between the locationserver 20 and the location client 53 (step S19). The location trackingcan be performed by using an existing location tracking method definedin the 3GPP or 3GPP2 or by using a SUPL (Secure User Plane Location).

The location server 20 transmits a calculated location tracking valuethrough a response message to the location tracking request message tothe broadcast/multicast server 30 (step S20), and thebroadcast/multicast server 30 transmits only contents corresponding tothe current location tracking value among contents which have beenselected by the user through the BDS 40 to the terminal 50 (step S21).In this case, the contents include the location tracking value of thecorresponding terminal.

In the process of transmitting the contents by the broadcast/multicastserver 30, in case that the contents received from the contents provider10 are classified and stored according to each service area, contents ofthe corresponding service area are transmitted to the terminal 50,whereas if the received contents are stored as it is, contents that canbe provided to the corresponding service area, among the storedcontents, is transmitted to the terminal 50.

The contents are transferred to the broadcast/location client 53 throughthe BDS receiver 51 (step S21), and the broadcast/location client 53outputs the corresponding contents for user's checking (step S22).

FIG. 4 illustrates items included in a service guide entry in accordancewith the present invention.

The items shown in FIG. 4 are optionally added to indicate correspondingarea information when contents list including area information istransmitted.

Of the items, ‘broadcast_area’ indicates including of area informationfor broadcasting/multicasting contents and includes ‘target_area’ or‘hor_acc’ as sub-items.

‘target area’ is an item for a part to which contents are provided andincludes sub-items of ‘shape’, ‘cc’, ‘name_area’ or ‘zip_code’.‘hor_area’ indicates a broadcast region with certain accuracy on aplane, which is, for example, used for setting a certain area on anelectronic map.

‘shape’ is used to indicate a geographical form, ‘cc’ is a country codeexpressed by 1.about.3 digits, ‘name_area’ indicates a regional name,and ‘zip_code’ is an area code give to each area, corresponding to apostal code number.

The broadcast/multicast server 30 can divide a contents service area byusing the items. For example, when a specific content is to be providedto a specific city, the broadcast/multicast server 30 optionallyincludes the items ‘broadcast_area’, ‘target_area’ and‘name_area=specific city’ on a list of the corresponding contents.

The optional items are not only used for indicating a service availablearea of the contents list in the service guide but also for limiting anarea to which each contents list is transmitted or an area to whichcontents are transmitted.

The location tracking request message that the broadcast/multicastserver 30 transmits to the location server 20 and the response messagewith respect to the location tracking request message that the locationserver transmits to the broadcast/multicast server 30 can be expressedin the XML (eXtensible Markup Language) by using each factor andattribute defined in an MLP (Mobile Location Protocol) specification.

FIGS. 5A to 5C and 6A to 6G illustrate a location tracking requestmessage and a corresponding response message expressed in an XML(extensible Markup Language). In detail, FIGS. 5A to 5C illustrateembodiments of messages used for tracking a location only one time, andFIGS. 6A to 6G illustrate embodiments of messages used for tracking alocation periodically or tracking a location when a specific eventoccurs.

Specifically, FIG. 5A shows a general one-time location tracking requestmessage corresponding to a location tracking request message, whichincludes an ID of a terminal which requests location tracking, locationtracking accuracy having time delay and spatial accuracy, a type of alocation tracking value, and setting of a priority level.

FIG. 5B shows an ACK message with respect to the general one-timelocation tracking request, which can include a result value such aswhether location tracking is successful.

FIG. 5C shows a response message with respect to the general one-timelocation tracking request, which includes only a location trackingvalue.

FIG. 6A shows a periodical location tracking request message, and FIG.6B shows a location tracking message in case where a specific evenoccurs, namely, for example, when a terminal enters or moves out of aspecific area.

The location tracking message includes an ID of a terminal whichrequests location tracking, discrimination as to whether it isperiodical location tracking or location tracking with respect tooccurrence of a specific event, and a period for requesting locationtracking, its start time and termination time in case of the periodicallocation tracking, and characters of an event (e.g., whether a terminalenters, moves out of or located within a specific area) and a name or anaccurate location value of a specific area in case of tracking alocation with respect to occurrence of a specific event. The locationtracking message includes location tracking accuracy having time delayand spatial accuracy, a type of a location tracking value, and settingof a priority level.

FIGS. 6C and 6D show ACK messages with respect to the periodicallocation tracking request or the location tracking request in occurrenceof a specific event, namely, showing embodiment of a case where aresponse can be made to a location tracking request and a case where aresponse cannot be made to a location tracking request.

FIG. 6E shows a location tracking value transmitted as a responsemessage with respect to a periodical location tracking request or alocation tracking request when a specific event occurs.

FIG. 6F shows a cancellation message with respect to the periodicallocation tracking request or the location tracking request in case wherea specific event occurs, and FIG. 6G shows an ACK message with respectto a minimum message.

Namely, the broadcast/multicast server 30 transmits the one-timelocation tracking request message, the periodical location trackingrequest message or the location tracking request message in occurrenceof a specific event to the location server 20 according tocharacteristics of contents selected by a user.

In order for the broadcast/multicast server 30 to transmit only thecontents corresponding to the location tracking value, a process formatching information on each contents received from the contentsprovider 10 and information of the terminal is required.

FIG. 7 shows a search table of a database of the broadcast server 30,which includes items of a service area, a list of contents provided toeach service area, an ID of a terminal subscribed for a service, and auser input value.

For example, a terminal with an ID of A1 is set to receive contents ofan advertisement, weather, stock information but not contents offashion. Then, when a location tracking value of the terminalcorresponds to the area ‘A’, the broadcast/multicast server transmitsthe contents of the advertisement, weather and stock information anddoes not transmit the contents of fashion. In this case, by adding suchan item of area information as shown in FIG. 4 as an option to thecontents transmitted to the area ‘A’, the service area can berestricted.

FIG. 3 is a signal flow chart of a broadcast/multicast service method inaccordance with a second embodiment of the present invention, in whichthe broadcast/multicast server which transmits contents related to areainformation receives location information of a corresponding terminalfrom the terminal (user).

The broadcast/multicast server 30 receives one or more contents from thecontents provider 10 (step S31), generates a service guide by using aservice time, a service position and a schedule of the contents, andthen transmits the service guide to terminals 50 of each area where thebroadcast/multicast service is provided through the BDS 40 (step S32).In this case, the broadcast/multicast server 30 can check areainformation included in the contents, classify corresponding contentsaccording to each service area and store it, or store the correspondingcontents without classification. The service guide includes an entirecontents list that can be provided by the broadcast/multicast server 30or includes a contents list selected based on preference informationthat the user previously requested or registered when having subscribedfor the service.

Upon receiving the service guide through the BDS receiver 51, theterminal 50 displays the service guide through the broadcast/locationclient 53 to allow the user 60 to check the service guide (step S33).

When the user 60 selects contents desired to be received at a specificlocation or at his/her current location among the contents of thedisplayed service guide (step S34), a broadcast/multicast requestmessage is transmitted to the broadcast/multicast server 30 through thebroadcast/location client 53 (step S35). In this case, thebroadcast/multicast request message includes information on an area towhich the contents selected by the user is provided.

The broadcast/location client 53 transmits also a location trackingrequest message to the location server 20 as well as thebroadcast/multicast request message (step S36). In this case, thelocation tracking request message is transmitted as a format of aone-time location tracking request message, a periodical locationtracking request message or a location tracking request message in casewhere a specific event occurs.

Upon receiving the location tracking request message, the locationserver 20 calculates a location tracking value by using an existinglocation tracking method or an SUPL (step S37), includes the locationtracking value in a response message with respect to the locationtracking request, and then transmits it to the broadcast/location client53 of the corresponding terminal (step S38).

Upon receiving the response message, the broadcast/location client 53transfers the location tracking value to the broadcast/multicast server30 (step S39), and the broadcast/multicast server 30 transmits onlycontents corresponding to the location tracking value among the contentsselected by the user to the terminal 50 through the BDS 40 (step S40).In this case, the contents include the location tracking value of thecorresponding terminal. Herein, in case that the broadcast/multicastserver 30 classifies the contents which have been received from thecontents provider 10 according to each area and stores it, it transmitsthe contents of the corresponding service area to the terminal 50,whereas if broadcast/multicast server 30 stores the contents withoutclassification of the service area, it transmits the contents of thecorresponding service area among the stored contents to the terminal 50.

The contents transferred to the broadcast/location client 53 through theBDS receiver 51 are outputted for user's checking (step S41).

FIG. 8 is a signal flow chart of a broadcast/multicast service method inaccordance with a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9is a signal flow chart of a broadcast/multicast service method inaccordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention, showingimplementation of a broadcast/multicast service through a terminal whosebroadcast/multicast client and location client cannot be connected withthe same network. In this case, the broadcast/multicast service isreceived through the DVB while a location information request istransmitted through the 3GPP or the 3GPP2. Because the DVB has only thedownlink channel without an interaction channel, the locationinformation is transmitted through the uplink channel of a networkdefined in the 3GPP and the 3GPP2.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a terminal 150, which receives abroadcast/multicast service through a DVB network 140, includes a DVBreceiver 151, a broadcast/multicast client 153, a mobile client 155 fortransmitting a location tracking request message to abroadcast/multicast server 130 or to a location server 120, and a user160. Namely, the broadcast/multicast client 153 operates as a receptiondedicated client and the mobile client 155 operates as a transmissiondedicated client for transmitting specific information except fortransmitting current location information of a corresponding terminal tothe broadcast/multicast server 130.

The broadcast/multicast service method in case where thebroadcast/multicast server 130 which is to transmit contents related toarea information directly receives location information of acorresponding terminal 150 from the location server 120 will now bedescribed with reference to FIG. 8.

When the broadcast/multicast server 130 receives one or more contentsfrom the contents provider 110 (step S51), it generates a service guideby using a service time, a service position and a schedule of thecontents, and then transmits the service guide to terminals 150 of everyarea where the broadcast/multicast service is provided through the BDS40 (step S52). In this case, the broadcast/multicast server 130 cancheck area information included in the contents, classify correspondingcontents according to each service area and store it, or store thecorresponding contents without classification. The service guideincludes an entire contents list that can be provided by thebroadcast/multicast server 130 or includes a contents list selectedbased on preference information that the user has been previouslyrequested or registered when having subscribed for the service.

The service guide which has been received through the BDS receiver 51 isdisplayed through the broadcast/multicast client 153 for user's checking(step S53).

When the user 160 selects contents desired to be received at his/hercurrent location or at a specific location among the contents of thedisplayed service guide (step S54), the mobile client 155 transmits abroadcast/multicast request message to the broadcast/multicast server130 (step S35). In this case, the broadcast/multicast request messagecan include information on an area to which the contents selected by theuser is provided.

Upon receiving the broadcast/multicast request message, thebroadcast/multicast server 130 transmits a location tracking requestmessage to the location server 120 (step S56), and the location server120 checks whether the location information of the correspondingterminal 150 can be disclosed (step S57). If user's permission isrequired with respect to the location tracking, the location server 120transmits a notification message with respect to permission of thelocation tracking to the user 160 and then receives a response message(step S58). In this case, the location tracking request message istransmitted as a format of a one-time location tracking request message,a periodical location tracking request message or a location trackingrequest message in case where a specific event occurs.

The location server 120 calculates a location tracking value by using anexisting location tracking method or an SUPL (step S59), and transmitsthe location tracking value through a response message with respect tothe location tracking request to the broadcast/multicast server 130(step S60).

The broadcast/multicast server 130 transmits only contents correspondingto the location tracking value among the contents selected by the userto the terminal 150 through the DVB 140 (step S61), and thebroadcast/multicast client 153 receives and outputs the contents (stepS62).

Herein, in case that the broadcast/multicast server 130 classifies thecontents which have been received from the contents provider 110according to each area and stores it, it transmits the contents of thecorresponding service area to the terminal 150, whereas ifbroadcast/multicast server 130 stores the contents withoutclassification of the service area, it transmits the contents of thecorresponding service area among the stored contents to the terminal150.

The broadcast/multicast service method in case where thebroadcast/multicast server which transmits contents related to areainformation directly receives location information of a correspondingterminal 150 from the terminal will now be described with reference toFIG. 9.

When the broadcast/multicast server 130 receives one or more contentsfrom the contents provider 110 (step S71), it generates a service guideby using a service time, a service position and a schedule of thecontents, and then transmits the service guide to terminals 150 of everyarea where the broadcast/multicast service is provided through the BDS40 (step S72). In this case, the broadcast/multicast server 130 cancheck area information included in the contents, classify correspondingcontents according to each service area and store them, or store thecorresponding contents without classification. The service guideincludes an entire contents list that can be provided by thebroadcast/multicast server 130 or includes a contents list selectedbased on preference information that the user has been previouslyrequested or registered when having subscribed for the service.

The service guide is received by the broadcast/multicast client 153through a DVB receiver 151 of the terminal 150, and thebroadcast/multicast client 153 displays it to allow a user 160 to checkit (step S73).

When the user 160 selects a service guide entry of contents desired tobe received at his/her current location or at a specific location (stepS74), the mobile client 155 transmits a broadcast/multicast requestmessage to the broadcast/multicast server 130 (step S75) and a locationtracking request message to the location server 120 (step S76). In thiscase, the broadcast/multicast request message and the location trackingrequest message are transmitted to the broadcast/multicast server 130and to the location server 120 through the uplink of the 3GPP or 3GPP2,not through the DVB network 140.

Upon receiving the location tracking message, the location server 120calculates a location tracking value by using an existing locationtracking method or an SUPL (step S77), includes the location trackingvalue in a response message with respect to the location trackingrequest, and then transmits it to the mobile client 155 of thecorresponding terminal 150 (step S78).

Upon receiving the response message, the mobile client 155 transfers thelocation tracking value to the broadcast/multicast server 130 (stepS79), and the broadcast/multicast server 130 transmits only contentscorresponding to the location tracking value among the contents that canbe provided to the corresponding terminal, to the terminal 150 throughthe DVB network 140 (step S80). In this case, the contents include thelocation tracking value of the corresponding terminal. Herein, in casethat the broadcast/multicast server 130 classifies the contents whichhave been received from the contents provider 110 according to each areaand stores it, it transmits the contents of the corresponding servicearea to the terminal 150, whereas if broadcast/multicast server 30stores the contents without classification of the service area, ittransmits the contents of the corresponding service area among thestored contents to the terminal 150.

Upon receiving the contents through the DVB receiver 151, thebroadcast/multicast client 153 outputs the contents (step S81).

In this embodiment, when the broadcast/multicast server receives aresponse for specific contents from the terminal, it provides thecorresponding contents to the terminal. In this respect, however,although the broadcast/multicast server does not receive a request forcontents from the terminal, it can check a location of the terminalthrough the location server to selectively provide contents according toa current location of the terminal, or can provide contents requested bythe user regardless of the current location of the terminal.

For example, when the broadcast/multicast server 30 receives contentsfrom the contents provider 10, it can check the terminal positioned in aspecific area through the location server 20 and transmit contents thatcan be provided to the corresponding area to terminals 50 within thearea.

In addition, when the broadcast/multicast server 30 receives contentsfrom the contents provider 10, it can classify/store the contentsaccording to a service area by using area information of the contents,and then, when a terminal requests contents of a specific area, thebroadcast/multicast server 30 transmits contents of the correspondingarea to the terminal 50.

As so far described, the broadcast/multicast service method based onuser location information in accordance with the present invention hasmany advantages.

That is, for example, because only pre-set information or contentsis/are selectively provided based on user location information, a wasteof a communication channel can be prevented.

In addition, since the user selectively receives contents or informationaccording to his/her current location, user's satisfaction andconvenience with respect to a service can be enhanced.

The foregoing embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary and arenot to be construed as limiting the present invention. The presentteaching can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses. Thedescription of the present invention is intended to be illustrative, andnot to limit the scope of the claims. Many alternatives, modifications,and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. In theclaims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structuredescribed herein as performing the recited function and not onlystructural equivalents but also equivalent structures.

1. A broadcast/multicast service method based on user locationinformation, the method comprising: transmitting, by abroadcast/multicast server which has received certain contents from acontents provider, a service guide including service-available areainformation to one or more terminals, wherein the service-available areainformation allows for location based targeting of services based ontarget areas in which the broadcast/multicast service is available;receiving, by the broadcast/multicast server, a broadcast/multicastrequest message with respect to one or more contents selected by a userof a specific terminal from the service guide; receiving currentlocation information of the specific terminal from the specificterminal, the current location information of the specific terminalindicating an exact current location of the specific terminal to allowthe location based targeting of services based on the target areas; andtransmitting, to the specific terminal, contents corresponding to theexact current location of the specific terminal among the contentsselected by the user according to location based targeting of servicesperformed by the broadcast/multicast server, wherein the transmitting ofthe service guide, the receiving of the broadcast/multicast requestmessage, the receiving of the current location information, and thetransmitting of the contents are performed by cooperation between thebroadcast/multicast server that utilizes location information in MobileLocation Protocol (MLP) format and the specific terminal that supportsuse of location information in the MLP format.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising: classifying, by the broadcast/multicast server, thecontents which have been received from the contents provider accordingto the service-available area information; and storing the classifiedcontents.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the user selects contentsdesired to be received at a specific location or at a current location.4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving current locationinformation from the specific terminal comprises: transmitting alocation tracking request message to a network entity by the specificterminal; receiving a response message with respect to the locationtracking request message from the network entity, the response messageincluding a location tracking value of the specific terminal; andtransmitting, by the specific terminal, the current location informationof the specific terminal to the broadcast/multicast server, the currentlocation information including the location tracking value of thespecific terminal.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the locationtracking request message and the corresponding response message have theMLP (Mobile Location Protocol) format.
 6. A method for providing abroadcast/multicast service based on user location information in whicha broadcast/multicast service is provided to at least one or moreterminals, each terminal having a client module for performingtransmission/reception through a network, the method comprising:receiving, by the client module, a service guide includingservice-available area information with respect to one or more contentsfrom a broadcast/multicast server, wherein the service-available areainformation allows for location based targeting of services based ontarget areas in which the broadcast/multicast service is available;transmitting, by the client module, a broadcast/multicast requestmessage with respect to contents selected by a user of a specificterminal among the contents information included in the received serviceguide to the broadcast/multicast server; transmitting, by the clientmodule, a location tracking request message with respect to the specificterminal to a network entity; receiving a response message with respectto the location tracking request message, the response message includinga location tracking result from the network entity; transmitting, by theclient module, location information of the specific terminal to thebroadcast/multicast server, the location information of the specificterminal indicating an exact current location of the specific terminalto allow the location based targeting of services based on the targetareas; and receiving contents corresponding to the exact currentlocation of the specific terminal, among the contents selected by theuser, from the broadcast/multicast server, wherein the receiving of theservice guide, the transmitting of the broadcast/multicast requestmessage, the transmitting of the location tracking request message, thereceiving of the location tracking result, the transmitting of thelocation information, and the receiving of the contents are performed bycooperation between the broadcast/multicast server that utilizeslocation information in Mobile Location Protocol (MLP) format and thespecific terminal having the client module that supports use of locationinformation in the MLP format.
 7. The method of claim 6, furthercomprising: classifying contents, which has been received from contentsprovider, according to its service available area by thebroadcast/multicast server.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein thebroadcast/multicast server stores the contents received from thecontents provider, and transmits the contents based on current locationinformation of the corresponding terminal.
 9. The method of claim 6,wherein the location tracking request message and its correspondingresponse message have the MLP (Mobile Location Protocol) format.
 10. Amobile terminal for providing a broadcast/multicast service based onuser location information, the mobile terminal comprising: a transceiverconfigured to receive and transmit signals through a network; and aclient module configured to cooperate with the transceiver and to:receive a service guide including service-available area informationwith respect to one or more contents from a broadcast/multicast server,wherein the service-available area information allows for location basedtargeting of services based on target areas in which thebroadcast/multicast service is available; transmit a broadcast/multicastrequest message with respect to contents selected by a user among thecontents information include in the received service guide, to thebroadcast/multicast server; transmit a location tracking request messagewith respect to the mobile terminal to a network entity; receive aresponse message with respect to the location tracking request message,the response message including a location tracking result from thenetwork entity; transmit location information of the mobile terminal tothe broadcast/multicast server, the location information of the mobileterminal indicating an exact current location of the mobile terminal toallow the location based targeting of services based on the targetareas; and receive contents corresponding to the exact current locationof the mobile terminal, among the contents selected by the user, fromthe broadcast/multicast server, wherein the receiving of the serviceguide, the transmitting of the broadcast/multicast request message, thetransmitting of the location tracking request message, the receiving ofthe location tracking result, the transmitting of the locationinformation, and the receiving of the contents are performed bycooperation between the broadcast/multicast server that utilizeslocation information in Mobile Location Protocol (MLP) format and themobile terminal having the client module that supports use of locationinformation in the MLP format.
 11. The mobile terminal of claim 10,wherein the client module is further configured to classify contents,which has been received from contents provider, according to its serviceavailable area by the broadcast/multicast server.
 12. The mobileterminal of claim 10, wherein the client module comprises: abroadcast/multicast client module which requests or receives abroadcast/multicast service; and a location client module which requestsor receives user location information.
 13. The mobile terminal of claim10, wherein the location tracking request message and its correspondingresponse message have the MLP (Mobile Location Protocol) format.